Apple, Motorola Held Cross-Licensing Talks Late 2011: EU

Visitors look at a video display at the Motorola booth on the second day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 7, 2011. Photo: REUTERS

(Reuters) - Apple Inc and Motorola Mobility held talks on a cross-licensing deal to settle smartphone patent infringement lawsuits, a move that could have benefited all of the companies that use Google's Android software, according to the European Union.

The two companies also discussed the scope of any potential settlement following Motorola's sale to Google during the negotiations held in late 2011, a document on EU's website said.

The document, published on Friday, provided details of EU's regulatory review of Google's decision to buy Motorola.

Spokeswomen for Apple and Motorola couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Apple and Motorola -- which Google is in the process of acquiring for $12.5 billion -- are engaged in global patent litigation, part of a broader legal fight over the smartphone market, with billions of dollars at stake.

Both the companies have sued each other in United States and Germany, among other markets.

Apple scored a legal win over rival Motorola last month Holdings when a German court said it could no longer ask Apple to halt sales of iPhone and iPad devices for now.